Dib Snaps
by Drago
Summary: Hey, you knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. Dib learns how hateful he really is for people, but something else seems to be bothering him... My first Zim fic, R&R!
1. Ensnared

_…And then the elf climbed the tree and everyone was like – oh, right. Hi there, peoples! It's been while… again! So one night I was playing rollercoaster tycoon on the Clunker and my bro brings home this DVD that he bought 'cuz Jason at Gemini Jetpack (our local Anime-and-other-cool-stuff fix place/thing) said "It has lots of good one-liners". And thus began my love of an "INGENIOUS" nickelodeon cartoon called "Invader Zim". Later that night also caused me deep depression when I learned that Jhonen Vasquez pulled the plug on it after 27-some odd episodes. Myself, only having the first 9 episodes under my belt (and that way it will stay until the next DVD comes out; I refuse to download anything I can tangibly get my hands on) I'm not as learned as some of you peoples out there, so no attacking me if I mess something up, Kay? I'm no Rob Hummel (that dude's like, a god! Not as good as Jhonen, mind you…) but I'll try my hand at this…_

_ Update! (08/13/4004): Added a title for this chapter, as well as changed some spelling errors that took me about 5-6 read-throughs to catch. How terrible of me --_

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INVADER ZIM, NOR DO I OWN ANYTHING INVADER ZIM-RELATED! (Although I do want a t-shirt or one of thems squeaky moose-es…)

**Dib Snaps**

Chapter 1: Ensnared

The simple serenity of the room was nearly overwhelming. Clearly, Ms. Bitters had the students either well trained, or heavily burdened with work. More likely, the latter was more relevant. What else was new? Zim tapped his fingers against his desk in boredom; it wasn't like **this** Irken Invader was about to write out some silly 300-word essay about why it was important to be orderly in class. Surely enough, chaos had erupted in class the previous day when a decoy-supply teacher was sent in for the whole day. It was no secret that this earth-wench who ruled the classroom had power, but none that could rein over the Irken elite!

On the other side of the room, Dib – Zim's arch nemesis – worked diligently away on his paper.

_"The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can-"_ A ball of paper flew through the air from some random direction, and struck Dib in the back of his rather large head. Quiet snickering soon followed. Dib furiously clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

**_Somehow, I can't help but wonder, you miserable fool…_**

Then he exhaled.

_"-get back to work, Dib. Just get back to work."_ He ignored the paper ball as it landed on the floor beside his desk with a quiet "tiff". Unfortunately, this noise was loud enough to grab the attention of the ominous Ms. Bitters.

"Dib," she hissed, "I don't recall saying that you could throw crumpled paper balls around the room, now did I?" Dib half-leered in surprise and annoyance as he replied defensively.

"But, it wasn't me! If it hit me, someone else threw it! It wouldn't make any sense if I were to throw-" Ms. Bitters' loud growl cut him off; the elderly woman didn't appreciate when her worthless students talked back at her.

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSCILENCE!" Her loud, maddening hiss echoed in the no longer silent classroom. Dib slouched in his chair weakly with worried eyes. Ms. Bitters had somehow moved from behind her desk to in front of Dib's, and was now looming over him like a dark spire of… doom. Her eyes darkly glared into Dib's.

"It seems that you are in need of a major attitude adjustment. Dib, go to the principle's office."

"WHAT?!?" Ms. Bitters growled loudly with her snake-like growl at Dib's objection. Her hands gripped the edge of his desk as she yelled in his face.

"NOW!!!" Dib sunk lower into his chair, cringing at the immense wave of sound. Ms. Bitters stood straight up, still gripping the edge of Dib's desk, and simply glared at him. Dib clambered up in his chair, and got out of his seat. Dejectedly, he walked towards the door.

**_Why it is that you even bother? I wonder…_**

Dib's shaking right hand landed on the solid, metal doorknob of the principal's office. From a nearby announcement system speaker, he heard the school bell ring for recess. Dib felt his stomach sink deeper into his guts. Forcefully, he clenched his shaking right hand onto the doorknob and turned it while pushing the door inward; his hand dropped loosely to his side. The door swung open as, in his mind, he could hear his dad now:

_"The principle's office? Again? You know what that means, Dib. I told you that if you got sent there one more time, you'll be grounded for a month with no allowance, and no TV or other things like that."_

Dib just couldn't take that. No Mysterious Mysteries? No computer? No spying on Zim while he ran off to destroy the world? No! He couldn't let that happen! But here he was… Enthusiasm deflated, he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down; eyes loosely gazing at the floor... The secretary, not having anything better to do, took instant notice of him.

"In trouble again, Dib?" She shook her head, "You problem child, you should take up a hobby. Like stargazing." Dib's eyes dully raised and met hers, but he said nothing.

**_What noble cause do you think that you are following?_**

The principal stuck his head out of the room at the end of the main office.

"Dib? You can come in here now." The boy hopped off his chair, and walked into the principal's office with the same dejected and depressed look on his face. He climbed up into one of the seats in front of the large desk, and looked at the principal with his still dull eyes. Somehow, Ms. Bitters had beaten him there, and stood at the portly man's right side, arms behind her back, still glaring. The principal began droning off into a long speech about respect for elders, superiors, and faculty members. Dib didn't really pay attention. He had heard it all before. So many times before; he knew when to say "yes sir" and when to say "no sir" as well as the occasional "I don't have a clue, sir." Something else was bothering him. Something that caused him to twitch, and in the back of his mind, it lingered. He couldn't pinpoint it, but there was a near-silent voice. And it was getting louder.

**_It's comic. You think just because you…_**

Dib looked around nervously. There was only the three of them in that room, and whoever it was certainly wasn't the principal, who had done nothing but babble and drone on since he sat down in this sorry room.

"Dib?"

Who was it there? Probably one of Zim's tricks. That alien menace; he had infiltrated Dib's body before, and deleted knowledge that would had quickly lead to his own capture. Oh, how Dib longed for that day. Standing proudly over an autopsy table with his enemy's organs neatly organized, tagged, and labeled.

"Dib…"

But it couldn't have possibly been Zim! The last time Zim had done such a thing, he didn't show up in class – and he was in class! Furthermore, it hadn't even been lunch yet. So, that means the possibility of this… thing… being Zim's fault was right out. So what did that leave?

"Dib!"

**_Feel that you're doing something for the…_**

"Huh?" Dib snapped out of his trance and looked at the principal with a confused look.

"Now that's the kind of thing I was just talking about, boy. You need some discipline, and you know we're certainly not going to be the ones to do it. I'll let you know now that we've called your father and-"

"You called my dad!?!"

"Yes, yes we did. I just said that, did I _really_ have to repeat it? Jeeze…"

"Uh…"

"Now the first thing you need to do is apologize to Ms. Bitters and myself for your lack and incredibly short attention span. Then we need to have you checked out to see if you have A.D.D."

"Attention Deficit Disorder? I don't have Attention Deficit Disorder!"

"Sure you don't, now apologize!"

"I…" Dib lowered his head, hair spike dropping down in front of his face.

**_Benefit of others, how well does that play when…_**

****

"I…" His voice seemed to get weaker and quieter with each passing word.

**_There's no one there to appreciate your work and…_**

"I…" The principal was getting annoyed.

"It's not a hard thing to do, boy! Spit it out!"

**_There's nothing left for you but…_**

"…Insanity…" The principal leaned over on his desk, not sure what it was that the boy just said.

"Huh? What was that boy? Speak up!" Dib slowly looked up; a strange and completely different sort of fire was in his eyes. However, the simpleton of a principal was too laid back to notice. He leaned forward as he spoke slightly louder.

"Insanity…"

"I don't understand a word you're saying, boy!" Dib jumped out of his chair and turned towards the door. "You're not done here, Dib! Back in your seat!!!" The principal fumed at him. Dib left the room without turning around or saying a word. The principal became furious. "GET BACK HERE NOW!!!" Ms. Bitters looked at him seriously.

"**Now** do you see what kind of behavior **I** have to put up with **on a daily basis**?"

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Dib casually walked out of the school, the hall monitor chasing after him screaming at the top of his lungs for him to come back "or else".

_"Or else what? You'll give me a ticket? Ignorant hall monitor…"_ Dib suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and half turned around. The hall monitor gripped his beloved trench coat threateningly. Dib's visible eye glared at the hall monitor coldly.

"Unhand me, fool." The hall monitor looked at Dib weirdly. Everyone in the school knew Dib's mild, although dubbed "crazy" demeanor, but this wasn't it.

"You can't leave skool grounds, Dib. You know the rules." The scene, which was following the event in the classroom, caused some attention from the skoolchildren.

"And what if I do?"

"You **can't**!" Dib smirked in an eerie and dark way that sent chills down the hall monitor's spine. The atmosphere felt different around _this_ Dib, and the hall monitor could only wonder what had possibly gotten into him.

"Who's going to stop me? Hmm?" The hall monitor gripped his trench coat harder. Dib laughed slightly. "Very well then. You live and learn, but this way, for you…" Dib laid his right hand on the hall monitor's gripping hand and with one swift movement, grabbed his wrist and moved it in such a way that a loud CRACK could be heard. With a cry of pain and a look of terror, the hall monitor recoiled several steps, cradling his now broken wrist. Dib smirked with a look of… enjoyment? The onlookers couldn't believe it. The entire playground became dead silent. "…is the hard way." Dib finished. "Now, the next time you interfere, I'll break a few other things. And trust me," he turned around and resumed walking away from the skool, "you will beg for death before I am finished."

From a distance, Zim had seen the entire thing; the hall monitor's yelling had interrupted everything that was happening in the skoolyard, and in turn, Zim's research on human worm-child behavior. He watched his nemesis' antics with great worry and surprise.

"That couldn't possibly have been my sworn enemy, Dib. He was too violent, too… evil… What kind of torture did he endure at this prince-e-pal's office to make him turn into this?" Dib had never been that violent, let alone _enjoy_ seeing someone else in pain – that wasn't his room with a moose. Zim wondered about what this 'prince-e-pal' creature could do to humans to make them change so much, and, more importantly, what his enemy-become-enemy-er was up to. In an instant, Zim's spider legs grew out of his Pak, carried him over the link fence, and retracted back into his Pak.

"I must find out what Dib is up to…" He hurried off into the direction that Dib had gone off into… towards the dreaded city downtown.

End Chapter 1

_So, whad'ja think? Not exactly as violent as I had first envisioned it, but still. Close enough. I promise things will most likely get more graphic next chapter. This isn't my normal writing style – those few of you who do know me know me for my humor writing (which this clearly isn't) keep calm. I'll probably do some comic stuff later on. However, I kinda wanted to do some sort of manic-depressive sort of violent story. Hope you liked it. Overall, let me know what you people think._


	2. Chaos Rising

_And I'm back. Surprisingly, sooner then later. How amazing, eh? Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and now, on with the second! _

DISCLAIMER: (Do I HONESTLY have to put one before each chapter? Jeeze… --) I do not own "Invader Zim". 'Nuff said.

**Dib Snaps**

Chapter 2: Chaos Rising

Dib briskly walked through the city's downtown. Already, within the short time that he had left, a noticeable change to his appearance had occurred. His trench coat was no longer smooth and curved, but looked slightly jagged and frayed at the ends. His hair still kept its main spike stretching from front to back, but other then that, looked spikier and chaotic. The rest of him remained unchanged – save his eyes, which were now a light fiery red, and his portrayed personality. He walked with a dark sort of confidence with a bland glare on his face. His eyes moved from left to right and back again as he read the names of stores in the downtown core. Not too far behind him scuttled Zim hastily. Dib's stride had become longer, therefore he moved faster, therefore Zim had to move faster. The little alien himself contemplated weather or not to take to the rooftops with his spider legs.

_"No, it's broad daylight,"_ he pondered, _"I cannot risk being seen for something so petty… I'll just have to keep up with him."_ He finished his thought to realized he had lost sight of Dib. _"Hey, what the- ARRRRG_" Zim clenched his fists as he tore down the street as fast as his little Irken legs could carry him.

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Dib had found what he was looking for. A shop in the downtown core that he had only noticed existed there, and was now browsing through the store's wares. The shopkeeper in this little place eyed him suspiciously.

_"What's a little kid like him doing here? Shouldn't he be in school? And he does look… kinda…"_ Dib looked over his shoulder at him, as if he was reading… or hearing… the man's thoughts. It didn't matter; Dib shrugged it off, as he picked up a particularly nice looking katana from the shelf. Sure enough, the shop dealt in knives, swords, and other such things – normally for display in one's own house.

"Hmmm…" He drew it and examined it, then concluded, "Yes, this will do nicely." He had managed to find one of the few swords in the shop that actually had a useable; sharp edge. The shopkeeper wondered if he knew this, but decided not to say anything – if he **was** going to give his slow little store some business, he wasn't just about to discourage the boy. No matter whom he was. Dib walked over to the shopkeeper's table, hauling the sword over his shoulder. The slender sheath it was concealed in was slightly taller then he was, but he didn't seem to care. "I'll take this one."

"How will you be paying, young man?" Dib took out a credit card from his pocket and slapped it onto the edge of the table as if it were nothing. His dad had given him that card; he knew that Dib was into the paranormal sort of thing – as much as the professor would wish he weren't – and needed it often to buy things from his magazines. He had instructed Dib never to buy anything too expensive or unnecessary, but Dib knew that he never really looked at the bills carefully anyways. This would go off without a problem – unless his dad saw him with it, but he'd jump off that bridge when he came to it. The shopkeeper rand in the card and Dib signed for it, took his card back, and turned around to go.

"Would you like that thing wrapped, young man?" Dib turned around and gave the shopkeeper a dark glare. Resisting the very urge to turn around and maim the man who just sold him a lethal weapon he spoke.

"No… thank you… It's fine the way… it is…" He turned around and left the store as forcefully as he came in. Turned right and began walking when an odd feeling hit him and he cringed. He dashed into an alley before too many people got a look at him, hid behind a dumpster, dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees breathing heavily. His normal appearance faded in and out – as if it was too far away to hang on to.

"What… is… happening… to me…?" In merely a few moments he had gone from being yelled at during school to obtaining a blade weapon, to wanting to kill someone. "What… is… _wrong_… with me?" That voice… that haunting voice came up again, as if whoever was speaking was right beside him.

**_You already know._**

****

"STOP IT!" Dib clutched his ears hard as he closed his eyes tightly, "WHOEVER YOU ARE, GO AWAY!!!"

****

**_Now why would I do something like that,_**

"Dib?" Dib jerked up and crawled backwards in sheer terror at the voice, but soon realized it was merely Zim. Zim had followed him! How did he be so sloppy as to let the alien follow him, and now have him at his mercy? No, he wasn't at his mercy quite yet. He still had his sword… WAIT! What was he thinking? He wasn't going to… but… no… his eyes looked around franticly as desperation washed over him. Zim simply gave him a weird look. "Dib what on this filthy mud ball are you doing?"

"GO AWAY ZIM! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

**_But you are alone, whelp._**

"AHHHHHHH!" Dib clutched his ears again, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!" Zim took a step back at his enemy's behavior.

_"Well **this** is an interesting development; however odd it may be, it is a development. That prince-e-pal creature's torture must still be having its effects on Dib. Perhaps this is my time to-"_ A metal SHING noise was Zim was startled out of his thought. Dib had returned to his different physical appearance, maniacal evil eyes with a psychotic smile spread across Dib's face. Zim's expression couldn't have gotten any odder, but something else was there. Zim felt fear.

"Heh." Dib had never touched a weapon in his life, let alone a sword as big as he was. However, it was as if he had owned it for centuries; he had unsheathed it properly and was holding both sheath and sword as if he had known how to do so all his life. He approached Zim slowly; in turn, Zim retreated as fast as Dib approached. Eventually, Zim's Pak hit a wall as his alien heart skipped a beat. He was cornered! Dib laughed again, moved with his sword into a lethal stabbing position, and lunged at him.

"AHHHHHH!" Both their screams mingled into one wave of sound – Zim's horrified voice and Dib's psychotic growl were heard thought the downtown area, blocking out all other sound. Dib hit something hard, but his head was down upon impact. He raised his head victoriously, and looked at his target. His target: a brick wall. He growled furiously as he tore out his weapon, along with several other bricks, and inspected his weapon. He smiled – excellent workmanship he hadn't expected; the blade didn't even have a scratch, let alone a dent. He looked around darkly as he re-sheathed his weapon. Zim was nowhere to be seen. He didn't care anyway, he'd kill that… _thing_ later. Turning around, he walked slowly but angrily – that would be the first and last time prey would escape him, and he'd be sure to make sure!

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On top of a close rooftop, a furious growl erupted from the alley below. Zim laid on his back feeling his torso, surprised he had made it out in one piece. The Dib beast moved incredibly fast. Almost too fast for Zim to activate his spider-legs and crawl out of that ordeal. The wonders of Irken engineering… he breathed heavily but quietly, trying to re-coop from the last few moments while trying not to give his location away to his malicious enemy. A bloodthirsty enemy. His life had flashed before his eyes in those moments, and yet he remained alive. It was taking awhile for the concept to sink in; for good reason too.

_"He almost had me… almost had me… almost, but not quite."_ A massive amount of thoughts seemed to flood into his mind, as if attempting to drown him. However, one thought remained on top at all times:

_"That was not Dib. I don't know how, but that was not Dib._ Zim almost found himself passing out, but was suddenly jolted upright by the sound of a blood curling scream, accompanied by slashing and shing-ing noises. Zim's antenna drooped as his purple-black eyes shrank to mere dots. Another thought hit him:

_"My mission!__ Dib is destroying the humans, but that's **my** mission! I cannot allow my enemy to take credit for what **I** should be doing for my mission!"_ He stood up and said the unspeakable.

"Dib must be stopped!"

End Chapter 2

_Another, less violent-then-I-imagined chapter comes to a close. But the story's starting to come out. The plot can only get thicker from here on out! Well, see you later! Oh, and don't forget to review. ;) Thanks._


	3. Between the Lines

_Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone. Much appreciated; so is constructive criticism about my style. I know that I need to use a far more descriptive and broader usage of terms and wording, but I guess that could only take time and practice (and possibly reading the dictionary whileist I'm at it? I dunno…) I might slow down in my updating soon because my site's almost back online (it's been down for about 2 weeks now). Oh, and while I'm on the topic of my site, feel free to visit, make use of the forums, and view my very crappy artwork! As soon as my site's back up, it means that I'm back to regular manga updates and other stuffs. So, just a note on that, and on with the show! Erm… fanfic!_

DISCLAIMER: Invader Zim is property of Jhonen Vasquez (Go you, dude!!!) and/or Nickelodeon (uh… yay?). Not me.

**Dib Snaps**

Chapter 3: Between the Lines

Blood splattered against a brick wall as a silver blade was wiped off with a piece of cloth cut off from nowhere else but the shirt of its latest victim. Satisfied with his cleaning job, Dib re-sheathed his sword. At the same time, two very different emotions sat with him as he strolled out from another alleyway. He was saddened that nobody had been noticing his work; at the same time he was maddened by the fact. Oblivious morons. They'd learn the definition of fear soon enough. His voice had become darker then normal, as did his physical stature. Again, he had gone through changes, hair having three spikes now (two pointing backwards, one in the middle pointing forwards and downward in between the other two), trench coat looking incredibly torn and frayed around the edges; eyes still red; all of which were no big changes in the least whereas one large non-physical change had become present – his personality had been changed to a kindhearted boy to a merciless and sadistic maniac. Worst of all, his gentler 'side' was nowhere in his psyche to be found. A joyous smirk spread across Dib's face as he looked at the passerby while he stood at the entrance of the alleyway. They were all too stupid to notice anything weird about a devious-looking 12 year-old boy with scythe-like hair spikes and red eyes hauling a sharp and ready blade weapon he carted around with him. Nope, everything was completely normal to them.

"A pity that none of these people know that their petty lives are about to end in a most tragically way," he shook his head while maintaining the smile, "nope, none at all." He clenched his free fist, "Unfortunately, I need more power… heh… and I know **exactly** where to go to get that." He laughed a bit, "Don't we now, Dib? I'm sure **you** do." No response came from anywhere. He shrugged with a sigh, "Very well then, but that doesn't change the fact _her_ departure will enrage you…"

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Dib weakly opened his eyes to see nothing but black. He was laying on some sort of dark but invisible ground. He stood up and looked around as he spoke out loud, and yet, to himself.

"Wha… what happened? Where am I?" He seemed to be standing on something tangible, but… there was nothing there but swirling darkness everywhere; bits of grey and white being engulphed and fading out, like watercolour paints mixing together. The lack of knowledge of his location frightened him into nervousness as a voice (that was certainly not his) seemed to reverberate throughout this dark world. Dib looked upwards, as if to expect something to come from above.

**_Ahah. That would explain a lot…_**

"Explain what?" Following red and blazing eyes out from the darkness was the figure Dib's body had now taken in his physical form. Dib looked at him; this "guy" looked a lot like himself. But he wasn't Dib. Dib was Dib… so who was that? Might as well ask. "Who are you, anyway?" The evil one crossed his arms.

"You speak as if you don't know your own self."

"You are **not me**."

"That's only what you want to think." Dib shook his head.

"You're not making any sense. I don't understand anything you're saying!"

"Perhaps…" The two stood in the black world for a few minutes. Finally, the unknown 'Dib' sighed, "You really are hopeless, aren't you?"

"Uh…" He shook his head.

"I suppose you expect me to explain this all, now don't you?"

"Well, that would certainly help me out."

"For the sake of you knowing, I might as well describe what you are clearly far too daft to comprehend on your own. I seriously thought you could have figured it out."

"You're a ghost of me from a past life that's haunting me?" Dib guessed. The other looked at him with annoyance, accompanied by a 'you really are hopeless' expression.

"No Dib. You **moron**. I am the physical embodiment of your own chaotic fury that you have kept inside yourself for so many years. I don't suppose you've noticed, but you've never really expressed any sort of aggression since your late mother, God rest her pitiful soul, kicked the bucket. You, more or less, have been keeping such fury locked up in your own heart until the point of snapping a-la-me. It is my role to enact out thus fury until the point of depletion and/or death a-la-you." He laughed with a smirk, "I'm also charged with the objective to make your life a living hell, as well as bring those who have caused my own creation to be brought to hell. And, for a side bonus, maim stuff for kicks."

"So let me get this straight. You're a part of me created purely from fury and rage who kills stuff like a raving lunatic, but you look like me and considering the stupidity of the rest of the planet, everyone will blame me for it." He nodded.

"Pretty much."

"You're not fitting the bill right now."

"I prefer to take the role of the intelligent psycho then that of the mindless psycho. I guess that's something I get from you, you schizophrenic."

"I AM NOT A SCHIZOPHRENIC."

"Yeah, and you don't have A.D.D. either." Dib growled enraged. The other Dib shrugged, "Well, I'd say I'm done here. There's a certain someone I'm sure you'd just hate to see join the choir invisible."

"_What?_"

"Die, you simpleton."

"Oh… hey! Wait a sec!"

"Now if you'll excuse me…" He turned around and walked back out into the darkness. Dib tried to chase him, but after a few steps he found himself yanked back to the ground. Confused, he examined where he was standing, soon realizing some extra weight around his wrists and ankles. Manacles, to be exact. He had been chained to the non-excitant ground in the middle of this black world.

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Zim keyed hastily on his Irken keyboard. He knew what had to be done – Dib stopped. How hard could that be? He had stopped Dib many times in the past; unfortunately the reverse was also applicable. Much to Zim's dismay, and a mockery of his superior Irken mind, he couldn't quite figure out how to do it. This problem was rooted in the fact that he honestly didn't really know what was causing Dib to act all evil all of a sudden. The only solution he had come to himself was that the prince-e-pal had tortured him into it somehow, but he had gone back (after he had retrieved his wig from the alleyway that had almost been his untimely resting place) and inquired the very same creature on the mission. The prince-e-pal had told him that in the middle of their conversation, Dib had begun acting all weird and suddenly walked out. Not exactly very descriptive and not entirely useful either. If only he had-

"TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!!!!"

"Not now…" Zim cringed inwardly. He didn't have time for this…

"I WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT TAAAAAAAAAAAAACOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!" Gir, Zim's 'trustworthy,' 'loyal,' and 'obedient robot minion' came rushing down into Zim's transmission room. Hitting the floor face first didn't phase the little android, as he immediately hopped up urgently and tugged on Zim's shirt.

"Tacos master! I want tacos! I need them good; I need them so I can watch the Angry Monkey show!"

"No Gir! No tacos or whatever else right now! I have to think of a way to stop Dib."

"Big headed kid needs to be stopped?"

"Yes, Gir," Zim spoke infuriately to his curious companion, "the big headed kid needs to be stopped."

"But he seemed so niiiiiiiiiiiiiice… maybe tacos would cheer him up! I know tacos would cheer you up, master. They'd even cheer me up! Everyone likes tacos!" Zim sighed.

"Alright! We'll go get you your tacos… go get your disguise on, Gir."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! TAAAAAAAACOS!" Zim collected several files that were active on his computer system, saved them, and moved them to one of the many folders he had in his archives. Oddly enough, it was the only one that didn't begin with "Ingenious Mission Plan # (insert one of the thousands ideas both tried and untested by Zim)".

"I'm not exactly coming up with anything useful right now, but perhaps some exterior stimuli might give me an idea I need to get my plans to stop Dib rolling." He walked over to a cylinder shaft at the back of the room and took the elevator to the house floor of his base.

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Dib's evil self stood at the entrance of the skoolyard, clutching his katana and smirking that same crazed smirk. Now all he had to do was-

"GRRRRRRRRRRRROWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He jumped with a shocked expression on his face and looked around alerted. Nothing. So what was that-

"RUUUUUUUUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" he finally figured it out, and clutched his stomach.

"WORTHLESS SHELL!" It hadn't dawned on him that food was a necessity, "When was the last time Dib ate? Couldn't have been too long ago, but… ahh…." A drawback. A minor drawback, but not that it was something this psycho couldn't deal with. Skool was right there, in front of him, after all. His only problem was his sword… "Technicality. That's all it is, and I will work around it. I will work my way to my ultimate goal…" He clenched his free fist dramatically before walking towards the innocent skool…

End Chapter 3

_Ahh hah ha! I end on one of the ultimate evils of the writing world – the devious cliffhanger! Don't kill me for it! Anyway, I think things are gonna be getting a little bit more upbeat from here on out. I know what you're thinking: "people are getting killed; how can that be upbeat?" Well, it's all in the writing style… Either I'll be using more humor or more sarcasm. Either way, uh… something. I think I'll end with a few review responses! Yaaay!_

_FleeingFaith – Not exactly. As you can see, it's kinda different. Pretty close, I guess. :s_

_NoroLimAsfaloth – I didn't exactly see the same kind of storyline posted in this section, but then again I don't think I looked too hard. Don't worry, this story doesn't exactly parallel your friend's fic. And if it does… uh…something? I guess an apology would be in order, but let's wait until I finish this dealie… heh heh heh… 'dealie'…_

_Everyone else: thank you for your kind words n.n _

_Hope you weren't disappointed or anything in this chapter, but this is the direction it's gonna be going. Oh well. Ciao for now!_


	4. Unexpected Developments

_Whoooo! I'm running! I'm running! I'm… oh, hi there. I don't exactly have anything to say at this point, so we'll cut the opening author's comment and get right on with the story. Wait… this **is** and author's note! Crap… erm… well… anyways…Disclaimer! Right!_

_Update! (__08/20/2004__) Fixed the non-asterisk problem and a few spelling errors, as well as some grammatical flaws. Boy, rough chappy, eh?_

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Invader Zim. There. I said it. You happy now?

**Dib Snaps**

Chapter 4: Unexpected Developments

Zim walked mundanely in his skoolkid disguise as Gir hopped, skipped, jumped, and munched on a taco from, where else? Krazy Taco. Little chunks of meat hit the ground as Gir chomped down his taco giddily in his green dog suit. Naturally, no one saw this as an oddity. Zim, however, hadn't come up with anything to help him out in his plans to stop the Dib human.

"Could it be that my incredible Irken mind is having some sort of function problem? I should be a superior genius! Why else would the Almighty Tallest trust me with such a secret mission?" He grumbled as he pulled out a small, portable blaster from his Pak and sighed. "I guess I'll just have to take him out the old fashioned way…" he let go of Gir's leash and pulled some sort of unlocking device at the top of the blaster. "Gir, go to the base and wait for me to issue you orders."

"Okie-dokie!" Gir jumped off happily making loud crunching noises, clutching his paper bag full of tacos as if it were a bag of stolen jewelry. Zim held up the blaster James Bond style and looked in the general direction of the Skool.

"Normally I don't like to do things so simply, Dib stink-beast, but your tactics leave me little other chose. NOW, prepare yourself for ULTIMATE DOOM!" He ran off evilly towards the skool. How did he know Dib was at skool? Well, he didn't. This is _Zim_ we're talking about.

Dib's evil self dropped a plate of cafeteria food on the table in front of him and sat down with a dull, monotone look on his face. These… people… were **incredibly** stupid! Just so incredibly imbecilic! He took a spoon and slowly shoveled some peas into his mouth as, in his mind, an event from not five minutes ago replayed in his head.

_"Dib!__ There you are! Everyone was looking for you; where'd you go?"_

_"Oh, uh… I was feeling little sick in here so I went for a walk and got a breath of fresh air. I feel better now."_

_"That's good… hey, what's that thing?"_

_"Oh this?"__ He hesitantly raised his katana. He was just about to hide it in the bushes as this random kid had caught him. "This… this is… a walking stick! I picked it up when I walked through the park." He felt as if a pile of bricks had just fallen on him. What a **terrible** excuse! There was no way that **anyone** would buy something so retarded; why wasn't he as-_

_"Oh, ok. Oh, and it's lunchtime. Maybe if you show up for the second half of the day Ms. Bitters won't be so angry at you. Anyway, see yah!"_

He stared blankly at the space in front of him, his katana leaning against him underneath the table.

_"I don't even feel challenged…so stupidly easy, how could the human race have **possibly** evolved into a group of such total morons? I don't even-"_ His thought process stopped as he heard some beeping noises from a certain portable game console. He looked over to his left to see Gaz, Dib's little (and inexplicably gothic-looking) sister. How she had come out the way she had was anyone's guess, but that was irrelevant. He finished chewing his peas as his face curled into a maniacal grin; and swallowed them. Victory was closer then he had seen coming. Inside his mind, he could tell Dib was watching.

**_What? Wait! What are you going to do to her? Stop!_**

_"You're not exactly in a position to boss me around, Dib. I'm afraid the reaper is knocking on her doorstep!"_

_ **NO! STOP!**_

****"He-llo Gaz…" His voice quivered with sadistic pleasure. "I was wondering-"

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up, Dib?" He blinked at her in wonderment.

"Uh…"

"That's great, now shut up."

"But…" Some strange beeping noises came from her game system as she looked at him with blazing eyes.

"I _died_." As much as he couldn't help laughing inwardly at what she would never know she said was ironic, he couldn't contemplate why exactly this was critical.

"So? It's just a game." He found himself chewing on more peas. They weren't that bad tasting to him, or maybe he just didn't care. Gaz, on the other hand, had that crazy and twisted look on her face.

"**Only a game?**** ONLY a GAME?!? THAT was the SECOND LAST LEVEL on the newest SUPER HAPPY NOODLE MAN 2 GAME!!!!"** On a normal occasion, none of the kids would care, but Dib had been acting weirdly, so everyone turned to spectate. Would Dib hurt his own sister the way he had with the hall monitor? Nobody knew, but they all wanted to find out. Dib had his hand supporting his head as he leaned against the table with a smirk. He didn't want all this attention, but as he built up suspense, he could feel building rage on the inside. Dib. What a fool.

"And?" The room gasped. **Nobody** had the courage to talk to Gaz like that, not even Dib. But here he was, talking – and it wasn't exactly 'Dib' in control either. Gaz lunged to grab Dib by the neck, but Dib's own hand shot out from nowhere, and grabbed her wrist strongly as he ate his food nonchalantly, "Gimmie a minute, sis. I'm just about finished." Gaz growled furiously as she tore her wrist free from her 'brother's grip, which he reluctantly released. She attacked him with various hand strikes, but 'Dib' stopped them all with his free hand. He had one spoonful of potatoes left when he finally had it. In an instant, he grabbed Gaz's latest attack, and pushed her backwards using her own momentum, stood up as well as picked up his katana, unsheathed it with a SHING, and pointed it at her so it just barely touched her forehead. She reeled in fear as a drop of blood slowly made its way down her forehead.

"I tried to tell you that I was just about finished and then we could settle this, but oh no no no, you have to go being FRIGGEN ANNOYING!" he walked forward as she walked backwards. 'This was bad' was the collective thought of the skoolchildren; none of them wanted to make any stupid remarks, although calling Dib crazy would now be officially accurate. Dib was just going nuts in their collective mind, which was a great energy boost. And, just like before, Dib's victim's back hit a wall, but unlike Zim, this one would not escape…

"Now is the time for your departure so you may begin pining for the fjords, dear sister, and don't forget to write. Oh, wait. You won't be able to!" He moved his hand on the katana so he was holding it backwards (and allowing him to make a powerful right-to-left diagonal strike) and wound up for a slice. Gaz was too terrified to move; she covered her eyes in petrifaction.

**_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_**__

**__**

From the hallway, Zim had watched the whole domestic ordeal. Not like he really cared for Gaz, but Zim figured every person Dib killed, Zim wouldn't be able to kill. He wasn't just about to give up his credibility. He looked around. Much to his excitement, he spied a little red switch on the wall, and looked at it. The earth monkey wording on the little red 'box' thing around it said "pull in case of fire". Not exactly a fire, but this would get the people out of the building, and away from Dib. Just the way he had wanted to take that fool boy out without drawing too much attention to himself. He broke the glass and pulled the switch.

The moment before Dib's strike made contact, the nearly explosive sound of the fire alarm went off. The kids in the cafeteria were all too overjoyed to get out of there, but they weren't the only ones. From all the classrooms a pandemonium broke out which was mainly caused students b-lining their way to the skool exits. Dib's body twitched in an insane fury as he turned to see Zim standing in the doorway. Their eyes met with old rivalry. Dib tossed his katana to his left hand, and threw it towards the wall to the right side of him.

"AHHHHH!" The blade had firmly planted itself in Gaz's left shoulder. She grimaced in pain and confusion while inside his own mind Dib was shouting up a storm which included curses and insults. Although on the receiving end of both emotional assaults, the evil one didn't care, as he walked over to Gaz. Her fearful eyes met his manically grinning face.

"They say when a person is stabbed; the blade makes seal-type suction around the wound. Blood would get blocked, but none would escape, so they say the worst thing you can do when you're stabbed like that is to remove the blade." He gripped the hilt of the katana and yanked it out from her shoulder as she screamed and fell to the floor. "I take it your not going anywhere? Good, I'll finish you once I'm done with…" his focus moved from Gaz to Zim, who was both surprised and still enraged by this earth stink's behavior, "…him" he finished with a smirk.

"You're sick, primitive earth monkey." He raised his blaster, "and I have just the remedy for you." Dib smirked darkly.

"Bring it on, whelp. You won't live long enough to regret your stupidity." He returned the katana to his right hand and moved it to a diagonal-like position so the blood from his sister's wound would be forced off the blade. "Bring it!"

End Chapter 4

_Do I hold no remorse? Yes! It's another cliffhanger! [dodges random fruits and other unanimous objects] Heh heh, I'm evil, aren't I? And now, for some review-replies._

_Celestial Star __Mali__ – Yeah, I realized that too after I finished the 2nd chapter. No worries, I have it taken care of. It'll be explained later on. Remember: there are NO plotholes in my story!_

_Pirate Monkey – [sigh of relief] Whew! Ok, thanks for that. No worries, and thanks for your comments. This isn't as graphic as I was planning on having it to be. I mean, once I came back from my long… uh… wherever I was I found out that NC-17 fics were no longer accepted here, I was all "as, forget that." Which is why I made the other Dib an intelligent psycho instead of a mindless one… aw, now I'm rambling! [shakes fist jokingly]_

_Everyone else – again, thanks for you kind words! n.n_

_The showdown between Evil Dib and Zim next time! Will Gaz survive? Will Dib regain control of himself? Will the fire truck ever show up? Will I stop with my long authors notes? Tune in next chapter to find out! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN!_


	5. Showdown

_Da nuh nuh nuh I'm back! Miss me? Ok, so maybe not. I'm glad to hear that you people are enjoying my sadistic-that's-turning-humorous work. Or maybe just plain sadistic. Either one, really. My site's back up as of Friday (__08/20/2004__) but I have yet to update it. So, I think I'll keep working on this; I'm sure nobody out there's about to object, so I think that's my cue to continue! And now, the disclaimer!_

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. Jhonen Vasquez does, and that's a far cry from my own name. Easy to say that I don't own Invader Zim due to that fact alone.

**Dib Snaps**

Chapter 5: Showdown

Echoing throughout the skool was the repetitive noise of the fire alarm, its alerting tone warning all those both inside and outside the building that there was danger within. However, the danger that the alarm was designed for was not the reason that it was ringing. The real reason stood in the skool cafeteria clutching a blade of cold steel, gaze reaching across the room to meet the eyes of another, non-human being. Not far off was a young girl who was bleeding profusely from a hole in her right shoulder while tears rand down her face.

"Dib… why…?" her voice was nothing more then a whisper drowned out in the sound of the fire alarm. The person she only thought to be her brother wanted her dead. She had beaten him up before, numerous times, but never with such intent. And now his intent was set upon Zim; he would not escape twice. Zim was the first to move, he jumped onto a nearby table to gain a height advantage. Dib's evil self ran towards him, fading to the right, blade in a position that looked like he was dragging it while he ran. Frantic, Zim spied several trays of food on the table. He quickly picked one up and threw it at his approaching enemy. With a flash and a SHING, the food tray was cut in half from top to bottom by a charging dark Dib, who no sooner had cut up that one try to see several others flying at him.

"**_This_**_ is his battle plan? Throwing food?_" He smirked as he cut through three more trays, "I'm afraid you're going to need far more then cafeteria trays to stop me, Zim!" He jumped onto the table and stabbed his katana into it to prevent himself from slipping off. He pulled out his weapon, nearly cutting off a portion of it in the process. He looked at Zim, standing close to him, to only see his blaster pointed straight at him. Franticly, he grabbed the barrel of the gun with his free hand and pointed it away from himself, while moving closer to Zim to execute a stabbing motion. The Irken Invader managed to grab the dull portion near the tip of the blade to re-direct the attack away from him while pulling his blaster free from Dib's grip. He stepped to the side and pointed his blaster at Dib's temple. Dib allowed his attack's momentum to continue carrying him in the same direction with a summersault. Immediately after landing on his feet, he turned around to see the blaster pointed straight at him – again. He quickly knocked the trajectory of the weapon away from himself while he dashed at Zim again, preparing to slash horizontally this time. Using his superior mind and technology, Zim sprouted his spider legs and retracted them fast enough to clear the slice without damaging anything, and aimed his blaster at Dib yet again. His weapon was met by the wide end of Dib's katana, preventing Zim from keeping accurate aim while dropping. With Dib pushing up on the blaster and Zim pulling down, they were left at a point of leering at each other for a moment. Finally, Dib gave way a little to gain enough leverage to push Zim away, then went in for another stab. Before striking Zim's torso, the alien blaster stared at him right between his eyes; they both stopped in an instant. If Dib were to complete his stab, Zim would see his sword move and shoot him, but if Zim were to try to shoot Dib he would see Zim squeezing the trigger and stab him.

"Stalemate…" Evil Dib's red eyes flickered with a sort of enjoyment in the adrenaline rush of combat. He could only wonder if the alien creature felt the same way. On Zim's end, however, the crafty Irken was trying to think of a way to end the stalemate which resulted in a blaster at Dib's head and a katana out of Dib's hand. None such luck so far, but he would think of something. Hopefully, sooner then later. They stood there for a moment which seemed like a lifetime; alarm buzzing and Gaz's cries in agonizing pain were ignored by the combatants, nothing more then a background noise in a moment of forever. Suddenly, Zim's eyes caught something that nothing other then an Invader's ocular implants could spot – Dib's hands on the sword's hilt tightened in the slightest way.

"_Gotcha, Dib-human!_" As Dib went in to stab, Zim quickly grabbed the blade like he had before, but instead of a gentle pull he gave a hastened yank, and managed to pull the sword out of the hands of his opponent. He quickly threw the weapon behind himself, and it was instantly forgotten. He had won. He gave Dib an evil smirk of victory; he'd make a big deal of it later, as now was not the time to shout in triumph. Instead, he'd rub it in the Dib stink's face.

"It would appear that I have won this fight, earth filth. I can't help but say that you will be missed in my mission of doom, but you had it coming!" Dib's other half gave the Irken soldier a despising look. Inside their mind, Dib was actually surprised in fear.

**_How on earth did you let Zim beat you? I thought you were some sort of psycho killer._**

_I'm not beat yet._

**_How can you say that? You're unarmed, and he's got his gun pointed right at you!_**__

_ I can't help but wonder why he hasn't taken a shot yet…_

"Now!" Zim continued, "enjoy your last moments of life, stink-filth!" He laughed manically as he pulled the trigger on his blaster. Above Dib's head in the dark world of swirling chaos passed all the events of his life in a single moment. His mother, his father, his sister… his sister…

**_Gaz… I'm… I'm sorry…_**

* * *

Dib's evil half opened his eyes slowly. He had felt something hit him hard, and then spread all over. He had expected some sort of alien acid-like substance, but nothing was happening. He noticed he had shielded his face with his arms from the blast. Little good that would do him, considering he was just shot. But with what? He lowered his arms slowly, inspecting his trench coat, which was now covered in something globby and brown. Zim stared at him in confused disbelief, yet he managed to speak.

"Is that… what I think it is…?" Dib ran one of his fingers along his alternate sleeve, collecting some of the goop, and tasted it. Then he stuck his finger in his mouth and pulled it out clean with an agitated look on his face.

"Chocolate pudding." He looked at Zim with a calm but angry, and yet a little mocking expression, "You expected to kill me with_chocolate **pudding**_?!?" He wasted little time in beginning to clean himself off; it didn't look like Zim was ready to fire it again anytime soon. Zim kept looking from at the blaster to the brown puddle of chocolate pudding that it had left from where Dib was standing.

"But… how?" He couldn't figure it out. And then it hit him. Actually, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!!!!!!" He shouted in his furious and screaming voice. It was the only logic that worked. Gir had a thing with putting food into machinery; his own body was no exception. It was the only option that made sense – plus, it was chocolate pudding. Achocolate pudding blaster. He tried to shake off his fury against Gir as he locked and shoved the gun back into his Pak. He couldn't let his fury get the better of him now, especially since Dib now had the upper hand – a chocolate pudding blaster wasn't going to do him any good. Now he had to-

"I'm getting tired of playing around," Dib's voice had switched yet again, from being agitated to sadistic, as he held his sword over his shoulder, "I think I've had my fill of this kiddy crap. Time for you to die." He jumped onto the table again, sword ready. Zim sprouted his spider legs in an attempt to get away, and started crawling away from Dib. Alerted by Zim's fleeing effort, Dib dashed one last time and jumped, swinging his sharp blade below the Pak and cut off all the spider legs, causing Zim to drop to the ground. Landing beside him, Dib quickly grabbed his neck with his free hand, continued running, and slammed Zim's head into the wall ahead of them. Overwhelmed with pain and the shortage of circulation, Zim instantly passed into unconsciousness. Dib's evil self laughed in an insane way, as he dropped the lifeless Irken to the ground like a rag doll. He had heard it the entire battle. The moving and shifting of a certain skull amulet against the cold cafeteria floor. He turned around to see Gaz trying to drag herself out of that horrid room with he legs and free arm, but she had lost a lot of blood and was more incoherent then competent. Dib trotted over to Gaz with the same old sadistic look of pleasure grin on his face. Well, it's better to have an agenda to this sort of thing; it left a lot less injured people waiting for death to reach them instead of bringing it to them. As he stood over her, he couldn't help but laugh. Such a gutsy person, until someone enacts rage.

"I apologize for you prolonged death. I promise I won't make you wait any longer!" He raised his blade over Gaz, clutching the hilt with both his hands as his face's expression twisted into blind, murderous fury.

"NOW **DIE**!" He knew what was supposed to happen, as he commanded the shell to drive the blade downward through Gaz's torso; he could see it in his mind. The only problem was, his body didn't respond. Confused with rage, he tried again. His hands shook at the command, but didn't move. His eyes opened wide in fury as he gathered all his energy – his command would not be denied! He forced the blade downward with everything he had, and stepped back twitching weakly.

"B… but…" he worriedly spoke with a mixture of weakness, shock, and pain in his voice, as he pulled the katana out from his stomach. _"…__how_?" He dropped the blood-stained blade and collapsed to the floor.

End Chapter 5


	6. Aftermath

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Invader Zim, ok? OK? OK???? Good. Glad to know that we have that ordeal sorted out.

**Dib Snaps**

Chapter 6: Aftermath

At first his eyes only fluttered, but soon Dib's eyes opened fully and yet he couldn't see much, aside from plenty of blinding white. Covering his eyes with his left arm, reached his right hand out and met with something that felt like a wooden table. He felt around it a bit and eventually found the familiar feeling of his glasses between his fingers. Sitting up slightly, he grabbed a hold of them and brought them to his face as he couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"Am I dead?" no sooner had he put on his glasses, he was soon victim to a swift punch to the side of his head. He cringed in pain as he fell back down, head hitting a fluffy white pillow. "Ow…" he moaned as a familiar female voice hissed at him.

"Don't you **dare** say something like that, Dib." He began to sit up again, but this time his stomach was met by a sharp pain. Before he could fall back down to the bed, a pillow was propped in between the bed and his back to keep him sitting up. He looked to his left with amazement and joy to see a familiar face; he could barely contain himself.

"GAZ!" he shouted overjoyed as his little sister helped him into a more comfortable position. She looked up at him with the look of fury; yet her eyes were red… had she been crying? Dib preferred not to question his little sister. That punch hurt. Suddenly, a sting of reality wrapped around his brain. He looked at his hands, and wiggled them. Yes, they were working… he had control of himself again! He laughed in wonder – somehow he had control of himself again!!! Score one for Dib, score NOTHING for… the Evil Dib… guy. He looked back at Gaz, satisfied and happy; her expression had gone back to being the way it always had been; same old Gaz…

"Dad examined your mind when you were out of it. It turns out you have a multiple personality disorder."

"Yeah… I know that much. I'm sor-"

"Save it, Dib. You don't have to apologize for that sick freak. The next time I see him, though, he's in for a serious world of hurt."

"Oh… speaking of which, how's your shoulder?"

"It's fine. I lost blood, but that's about it."

"That's good to hear…" Dib looked blankly at the wall in front of him; his eyes were soon drawn by what looked like… were those get well _cards_? There were some flowers in a vase from his Dad and Gaz, but it also looked like the students in his class had made him some cards. He laughed slightly; Ms. Bitters probably forced them to do it. He could only barely read them from where they were, but he could make out a few sentences on some of the cards. He wasn't sure if they were really genuine or not, but quite frankly, he didn't care. After all, it was the possibility of the thought that counted…

_"Miss you…"_

_"Not the same without you, Dib."_

_"Well, now we know you're really crazy…"_ The last one he made out came from familiar hand writing.

_"The sooner you get better, the sooner I can conquer the world in front of you, Dib-human!"_ He sighed happily. Things were right. Wait…

"How long have I been out of it Gaz?"

"A couple of weeks."

"Weeks?!" he looked at her in shock. She nodded.

"I'd say about three or four."

"I don't even remember what happened."

"Well, psycho you was going to kill me. He somehow ended up skewering himself instead of me. Anyway, some of the kids who'd been in the cafeteria at the time told some teachers, and they called the paramedics. I stayed in here for a few days, but you…" she turned around, obviously not wanting to show what emotion she was feeling to her older brother, even though it came out in her voice – plain sorrow – she continued, "they kept saying you weren't going to make it. Dad personally made sure that they were wrong. But, man, Dib," she turned back around; it appeared that she had successfully fought off her emotions, "evil you almost managed to screw you up pretty badly. That stab almost severed your spinal nerves or whatever they're called. He also sliced open some things when he pulled the blade out. What a klutz. " Dib automatically forced his right hand between the pillow and his back, and searched his spine. Sure enough, there was one part that felt like it had a thin hole in it, but the hole had been filled in with some metal substance. "Anyway, Dad hooked you up to a mind scanning device and found out that it was an evil you doing all that stuff, so you weren't put in jail. They don't have rules to punish someone who's not in control of what they did the way you were." She shrugged, "Or something stupid like that. I don't think the nuthouse wants you either, but I guess that's good for you."

"At least they didn't blame me…"

"Was that all you were worried about?"

"Well… kinda…" Gaz grumbled, as she turned to leave. Dib smiled lightly. He had noticed her acting kind of weird, but he preferred Gaz the gamer. Before she left, she turned around and looked at him with a serious face.

"Do you think you can manage sleep on your own, or do you need me to make you wander off into dreamland?" Dib laughed slightly as he gestured to the pillow that was propping up. With a grumble and rolling eyes, Gaz stormed over to Dib, yanked the pillow out from underneath his back (not nearly as gently as she had stuffed it under him), and Dib hit the hospital bed in pain.

"Ow…." Gaz paid no attention to him, and stormed out of the room. Staring up at the ceiling, Dib couldn't help but smile. He had experienced some pretty tough stuff – including almost being the cause of the death of his own sister – but things had turned out for the best. Or at least the better. He found himself placing his hand on top of his shirt (oddly enough, there was no hole there; he guessed that someone had switched the shirt he had been stabbed in) and felt stitches over his stomach. He cringed… how could his evil self had done that? A metal blade… a sharp object that passed through him… he shivered at the concept of his own frail mortality. He yawned as he adjusted his position in bed as painlessly as he possibly could, and allowed himself to drift off into sleep.

* * *

Zim tapped a few keys on his keyboard, and the main screen faded to black. Oddly enough, he was glad Dib was ok. As soon as Dib got back to skool, he could go back to being a pest. Zim had found it hard to admit, but he appreciated the motivation Dib's presence gave him. After the fight between Zim and the Evil Dib beast, Zim had been working on some plans. Somehow, he couldn't seem to create a plan that didn't involve Dib interfering somehow. Much to his dismay, he couldn't work around this roadblock – so he simply waited it out, and it had paid off in full! Finally, after waiting three weeks, the human was awake yet again. He grinned in victory as he turned away from the black screen. He would complete his mission, and he would need no help from this Evil Dib. However, if the crazed creature wished to go on a rampage again, he would have to face none other then Zim… and he wouldn't catch _this_ Irken Invader off guard twice in a row! He proudly walked to the elevator, which took him up to the house floor. After all that planning and spying using a camera he had planted in the flowers in Dib's hospital room, he decided he needed a much deserved break… as long as he didn't tell the Tallest. No, he'd conveniently forget this ordeal when the time came for him to report in tonight; he had put it off for far too long…

* * *

Dib found himself walking through the black swirling world of chaos which he had been prisoner in for a good deal of this whole event. In the 'center' of this place sat a figure, not much different from Dib, wearing manacles and chains – just like Dib had, but there was one minor difference: this figure had manacles attaching chains to not only his wrists and ankles, but also his neck, shoulders, and waist. He didn't appear to care though, as he held a book with his left hand and wrote in it with his right. He was wearing his trench coat, but not his shirt (which didn't really matter, considering the trench coat covered most of him like a shirt) and around his stomach was some wrapped white bandages. It appeared from the red that was coming through the wrappings that he had obviously taken the worse side of the blow.

"What'cha writing?" Dib asked curiously as he looked over his insane other half's shoulder. He slammed the book closed and looked up at Dib with narrow eyes.

"None of your business." Dib shrugged it off as he walked over and sat beside him. His other half growled and rolled his eyes, but did little else. He opened his book again, dipped his pen in some ink (yes, it was a dip pen) and continued writing. They sat there for a moment before Dib broke the silence.

"So why did you stab yourself that day?" his evil half, not looking up from his work, responded immediately.

"That wasn't me," Dib looked at him in sheer surprise. The evil half took a moment of his time to look up from his book, and pointed his dip pen at Dib's wrists, which were still wearing the manacles from before, but the chains had broken off, "that was _you_."

"Y-you mean…" Dib sputtered as the dip pen began scratching against the book's pages once again.

"I do indeed. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save your sister. How… _noble_… of you." He spat out the word 'noble' as if it had a disgusting taste in his mouth.

"That was…" Dib sat in the near silence, allowing the thought to sink in. He _had_ done that, hadn't he? He felt his hands shaking as he tried to remember the moment, but to no avail. He sighed, and looked back over to his other self.

"So, you have a name?" He looked at Dib as if there was something else wrong with him. Sarcasm strong in his voice, he replied.

"A name? Oh yes," he looked back down at his book, "an entity created solely from anger and fury is bound to have a name as well! Gee, doesn't that make sense?"

"Well, I can only think of so many ways to address you, considering you're… well…you. So I think I aught to give you one."

"Bid." he responded simply.

"What?"

"Bid will do nicely." He looked at Dib again as the boy thought it over.

"Hey… you just took my name and spelt it backwards!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Bid's stare was also partly him leering, "I think it works nicely. What better way to represent a reflection of self." Dib sighed.

"Yeah… Bid… I guess that's fine…" as much as Dib wasn't a fan of his evil self having _any_ part of his own name in his other half's, and he really didn't care for what the 'reflection of self' part was supposed to mean, he couldn't have really cared less. He had a long past few weeks – even though he was out for most of them. Dib stood up and stretched.

"I guess you're not trying to be super evil me anymore, huh Bid?"

"Don't get me wrong. Just because I'm in shackles doesn't change a thing about me." Dib looked at him simply.

"Still a crazed psycho lunatic?"

"I suppose that's one way of putting it. I'm still here; not just about to go anywhere. Except for maybe the outside world and do some cleaning up of worthless wastes of matter."

"Heh… I guess so…"

"Mhm…"

**The End…?**

_Ahh… a classic Kirby ending! What with the ellipsis and the question mark… man, that takes me back. Anyway, that's the jist of this fic. I drew a fan art pic of Bid and you can see in the artwork section of my website. (Sorry I can't link you, this thing's being evil... -.-) I can't draw like Jhonen can, so I just drew it the way I do. Badly, I know. But still. Anyways, that's pretty much it. Any questions and/or comments would be much appreciated, as well as reviews. I like thems. Constructive criticism = good, but no pointless flames. Good? Good. I already know I've won the 'worst ditch effort to try to make Gaz in character but failed miserably' award for this chapter. () Heh heh heh…_

_A few other things to take notice of – I've been putting in tributes to other thing by using lines from other games and TV shows and such into the fic (an example would be the kriby-esque ending). Just for fun, see if you can find them all. I don't think there's too many, but I could be wrong._

_Well, see yah around!_


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